Golf is a game that requires a player to transport a substantial amount of equipment as he or she plays the course. Many options are available to the player to accomplish this transportation, such as riding carts, the hand-pulled cart, the powered golf bag can, and the hiring of a caddy to carry the equipment bag. The preferred option, however, for maximum exercise benefit from the game, is for the player to carry his or her own equipment-laden golf bag as he or she walks the course.
While carrying one's own golf bag is the preferred method, the physical strain from doing so may prove detrimental to the golfer's ability to perform as the game proceeds. Carrying a heavy bag over the irregular terrain of a golf course results in increasing fatigue as the game proceeds. Concern over the strain and fatigue caused by carrying one's bag for the duration of the game often leads a player to decide to select an alternative means of transporting the bag, thereby reducing the exercise benefits from the game.
In order to reduce the strain on the player from transporting the bag, golf bags and equipment have been progressively constructed of lighter materials. The typical golf bag is equipped with a single handle and usually a shoulder strap to facilitate lifting and carrying the bag. It is usual in the art to pad the carrying strap so as to lessen the contact stress on the shoulder from the weight of the bag and its contents. Nonetheless, the weight of the typical equipment-laden bag remains substantial and the strain of carrying it remains appreciable.
Observation of a player carrying a golf bag reveals that the stress from carrying the bag is asymmetrically distributed over the upper pan of the player's body by the single shoulder strap with which the bag is carried. In use, the player uses the handle to lift the bag, then positions the single shoulder strap over one shoulder in order to carry the bag. This places the weight of the load on one side of the player's body and the player must adjust his or her stance by leaning to the opposite side in order to balance the load. As the game proceeds, the player will typically alternate the carry from one shoulder to the other in order to alleviate the strain and resultant muscle fatigue which develops from carrying the asymmetrical load. It is this strain and resultant fatigue that affects the golfer's performance.
One approach to distributing the load of the golf bag more symmetrically is to utilize a back pack-like, two strap suspension. This method is utilized by the IZZO System, a carrying strap marketed by IZZO Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 1434, Evergreen, Colo. 80439.
In use, the IZZO System (Izzo) replaces the single shoulder strap supplied with the golf bag. The original strap is removed, by cutting if necessary, and the Izzo is attached in its place. The Izzo system suspends the golf bag from two shoulder straps which are connected to the golf bag in three places; the two outer connections at the points where the original shoulder strap was connected, and the intermediate strap being connected to the handle of the bag. The Izzo strap must remain on the bag once the present owner replaces it. Thus, the Izzo strap cannot be readily transferred to another bag without leaving the first bag without a shoulder strap.
The Izzo strap is fitted to groups of individuals, coming in small, medium and large sizes. This provides the original purchaser with the correct fit but does not allow the original purchaser to transfer the strap to a user who requires a different size.
A further disadvantage of the Izzo strap is that it is designed to orient the bag so that the open end of the golf bag is always on one particular side of the golfer. This is accomplished by the use of dissimilar shoulder pads. One pad is intended to be use on one shoulder and the other pad on the other shoulder. These pads cannot be interchanged. Therefore, the bag is always carried in the same manner and the user does not have the choice of which side of the user's body the open end of the golf bag appears.